Story Teller, Part One

This will probably end up being one of those late night, deep thought blog posts, but that's just fine with me.

I've been thinking a lot of... me. Not in a selfish kind of way, but in

a deep, big picture kind of way, like we all do from time to time. Who was I meant to be? What does God want from me? Who was I created to be; what was I created to do?

In my heart, I think I've known all along, and it's taken until now to really realize it.

Looking back from when I was young, I was always in love with a good movie or a good book. I remember, as a kid, sitting in my room for hours and drawing pictures that would fit together as a story. Because I didn't even know how to write yet, I could only draw the pictures, run to my mom when I was done, sit down in the big red recliner that used to sit in our living room, and tell her the story that was happening on each picture. Sometimes, these would involve super heroes battling super villains. Sometimes, it'd be about a little boy getting lost in the woods and meeting a monster. Most of the time, I'd involve a sword to some capacity. Little boys love swords.

When I was a bit older, and I learned how to write, I did that a lot. Although I can't be sure if many of them have survived to this day, I wrote storybook after storybook growing up. I had so many ideas and stories in my head that I couldn't get them on paper fast enough. Stories about dragons who acted like people. Stories about a kid who learned magical powers and suddenly found himself battling an old witch on top of a castle. Stories about three friends who journey into a deep cave and find a secret treasure hidden at the bottom. All of these were actual story books I wrote, and all of them, I know, before the age of eight years.

Then, I remember the video camera. An old Song with a big red button on the back that used High-8 tapes. My mom would set it on a desk or a box or something and, as long as I didn't touch it, I was allowed to make movies in front of it. I did this all the time. Finally, a way to tell my stories on screen, like they did at the movies and on television. I made hours and hours worth of movies with that old camera. Movies, sometimes, based on the stories I wrote when I was a kid. One I remember in particular was a claymation movie about a guy who was abducted by aliens for a dinner party. Another was about a Racoon and Parrot who met a giant in a big blue sandcastle. You can't make this stuff up! Well, I did. And it was the greatest. Sadly, I know a lot of these didn't survive. I put them all on one video tape, which was destroyed a few years back, on accident. I will never forget a lot of the movies I put on that tape. No one else will ever see them, but I will remember. They're sort of like dreams now... ones I remember well, but no one else has or w

ill experience.

When we moved, we got our first computer. It was an old HP with a Windows XP operating system, which was new at the time. I remember one of the first things I did on it - my dad showed me how to open Microsoft Word, and I wrote stories. I still have one I wrote when I was nine years old... almost ten years ago. 'The Knight's Castle,' I called it. About a brave knight named Sir Doug whose beloved, Princess Kate, was kidnapped by an evil wizard and locked in a tower far across a desert filled with a gang of Eagles, a dragon, and a six-headed lizard. I loved writing that story so much, I went on to wr

ite six sequels. I kid you not - six. Some how, the plot eventually went on to include lightning swords, phantoms, robots, time-travel, theives, and all sorts of nonsense, but I remember the last 'Knights Castle' story well. I called it 'The Final Showdown.'

Sir Doug stood in the middle of the Death Desert facing the sorcerer that had kidnapped Princess Kate in my first 'book.' Princess Kate sits tied beneath a palm tree as Doug and the bad guy (I can't remember his name...) stood, swords drawn, ready to battle. As their swords clashed, I remember the scene playing out in my head. A brave youth, that looked a lot like myself, battling some faceless evil all for the princess I had fought so hard for. Doug eventually defeated the sorcerer, The Princess and he were married, and the kingdom was their's. I remember ending it saying something like '...and they lived happily ever after, for many years together, reigning over the kingdom as the best rulers ever seen,

as every one of their dreams came true.'

Something about that strikes a chord with me. I made that story. I don't think anyone has ever read those rather pathetic stories, and I'm not so sure anyone ever will, but the fact that that tale did not exist until I brought it into being, even as a nine year old, is an astounding thing. The movies I made a kid - even as a preteen and early into my teenage years - all meant something. Whether it was my cheesy little scary movies about the guy with the clown mask that haunted my house, or the more epic tales of the group of friends who went off to bring a magic book back home to the Wizard it belonged to (battling a troll and traveling along a mile-high wall along the way), or the movies where an army soldier fought off a vicious swa

mp monster. There was always a story to be told, wasn't there? Growing up I didn't play any sports. I didn't play and instruments (well, piano and the guitar for a while, which I thoroughly loved and still do from time to time, piano especially). I was a writer. A little movie maker. I was a story teller.

Now, as I sit here, I look at my recent months - years, even - and think about one very painful question... 'Where did all the stories go?'

It was my dream to, someday, be a REAL author. It was my dream to someday be a REAL filmmaker. It was my dream to be a REAL story teller. Where did all that go?

Here I am now, working my first job at the court house as a poll worker. I'm in college now, learning how to write about cause and effect rather than Castles and Dragons. I'm making videos still, but about current events and song parodies to put up on Youtube so maybe someone can get a laugh out of them and subscribe to my channel, thus fulfilling some vain hole in my heart. Here I am now with no dreams. Did they disappear? Why does looking back and feeling nostalgia hurt so bad? Is it because we've lost a dream? Is is it because the future is here, now, and it's not as great as we had hoped it would be?

I don't believe the dream is gone, though.

Looking now, questioning now, I do, absolutely, without a d

oubt, believe that is God's purpose for me. It's not very specific, no, but I'm not worried about specifics. I believe I was created to be something great. I know that I was created to be a part of a bigger story, but something in me says that's not enough, believe it or not. Something inside of me says I was meant to create in the way I was created.

It wasn't too long ago that the words of a very wise friend and mentor of mine was giving me some major encouragement in a time of trouble for me. With the stress of college, family, girls, my job, my future pressing down on me at once, he shared with me something I won't forget.

He called me a story-teller. He told me I was a story-tell

er; a vision-caster that would do great things.

It wasn't until a few days later I was praying, and I was asking God to, you know, show me what to do, where to go. 'Point out the road for me to take, O Lord - show me the path to follow' as Psalms says. Those words entered my mind again. 'Story teller.' A story.

Since then, it's become abundantly clear. Looking at my past as a child, as a pre-teen, as a teen, and into now, it is obviously clear - God created me to be a story teller.

Nothing grabs my heart like a good story. Whether the epic fantasy of Lord of the Rings, the simple magic of Beauty and the Beast, the romance and grandeur of Titanic, the good vs. evil tale of Harry Potter, the horror of Stephen King or the beauty and brilliance of CS Lewis... the stories that always captured my heart were the ones I never forgot.

"It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones

that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end... it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass.... A new day will come.

And when the sun shines, it will shine out the cl

earer. Those were the stories that stayed with you... that meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something..." Samwise Gamgee, Lord of the Rings

I look at myself now, and what I've created lately. D

ozens of unfinished stories - hundreds of pages worth of unfinished novels - sitting on my computer. Videos I never finished, some videos I never even started. Where am I? In the darkness, maybe. Why though?

Like these stories, I know there is an Enemy ready to halt whatever I might have done otherwise. I was created to be a creator; able to do amazing things. Capable of changing the world. I must be stopped, right?

I won't let that happen anymore.

"I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something..." said Sam in that quote. What am I hanging on to? The hope and the future God promised me and you in his word. The plans He has for us. The masterpiece He created us to be, and the masterpieces He intends for us to create.

Whether I ever create an award winning film, whether I ever write a revolutionary novel, whether I ever write a script, whether I sell a single book or what-have-you, I know one thing for certain: I am a story teller. I was created to tell stories.

I may never make a feature-length film. I may never write another novel-length book. But as long as I'm doing what God wants me to do, in some capacity, then I'm okay with that. I'm a story teller, and a creator. Just like my God is a story teller and a creator.

And that is an exciting thought.

New Jars of Clay Album - 'The Shelter' - Review

"Ar Scáth a Chéile a Mhaireas na Daoine."
"In the shelter of each other, the people live."

Jars of Clay is one of the older Christian rock/pop bands, and are extremely gifted songwriters and performers, loving and active humanitarians, and humble, talented Christians who have been entertaining, moving, and loving on people for over a decade. Yesterday, they released their eleventh studio album, called 'The Shelter.'

After pre-ordering the album, I got it in the mail today, and I was absolutely blown away by this album that I had ridiculously high expectations for. The pure artistry and work that went into this album must be beyond measure.

"'The Shelter,' Dan Haseltine of the band explains, "is a record about community, and how we get to be Jesus for each other. A shelter is refuge from a storm. It is peace in the midst of chaos. Something that cools our fear when we are afraid. I think what I like about the image of a shelter is that it is not something that is apart from the storm, but is something that is placed IN the storm, and yet it is something that keeps us from harm's way, but it's not so far away that we lose sight of it."

The theme of 'The Shelter' is, without a doubt, community. Friendship. Fellowship. Christians coming together, loving one another, and being/living like Jesus for one another and the entire world. This album came at an extremely important time in my life where I've got that very theme on my heart constantly. About isolating myself. About not feeling loved. About giving up. About not having a group friends, a family, or a community I feel I can belong to. All of this is completely ridiculous, though. I know, in my heart, I have all those things, but we have an Enemy that has made it his job to destroy every relationship we, as Christians, have. 'The Shelter' is a battlecry against that. A hymn against isolation. Sadness. Lonliness. A message of hope, love, friendship, and God's grace played out through 11 expertly crafted tracks.

Jars of Clay is not alone on this album, either. To go with the theme of community, Several artists have added their song-writing and musical abilities to the band's own this time. What had the potential to be a cheesy collab of standard Christian fare is everything but that. With Jars of Clay, you have Brandon Heath, Thad Cockrell, Audrey Assad, Gungor, Mac Powell from Third Day, Derek Webb from Caedmon's Call, Burlap to Cahmere, Sixpence None the Richer, TobyMac, Mike Donehey from Tenth Avenue North, David Crowder, Amy Grant, and more that I can't even remember. Wow. That's a lot of folks. Still, this is Jars of Clay's album, and these artists just add to that instead of making it a mishmash of songs and styles.

The album begins with the extremely poignant track 'Small Rebellions.' The opening lyrics set up the entire album beautifully. "God of the break and shattered... hearts, in every form still matter. In our weakness, let us see, that alone we'll never be lifting any burdens off our shoulders...." It sets up the whole idea of a community, and that it's not going to come easy. The chorus makes that clear with it's words. "If our days could be filled with small rebellions... senseless, brutal acts of kindness from us all... If we stand between the fear and firm foundation... push against the current and the fall... We will never walk alone again..."

The next track picks up with 'Call My Name.' It's all about one of the simplest Christian principals, in yet, it's the one all of us struggle with on a daily basis. Being called by God to do something extraordinary. Have purpose in our lives. Jars of Clay has already hit two very important topics in Christianity, and we're only two songs in.

'We Will Follow,' track #3, is like a direct response to track #2. If 'Call My Name' says 'God has a plan for you,' 'We Will Follow' says '...and we're going to follow it!" It's an incredibly happy and hopeful song that has a very simple chorus, but I've already found myself singing it over and over again. "Where you lead us, we will follow..." A little bit of their Nashville roots come out with some epic violin, too.

The next track, 'Eyes Wide Open,' features the voice of Dan Haseltine, but then the instantly recognizable voice of Mac Powell from Third Day. It's a song simply out asking God to keep our eyes open to where he's working. Keep our eyes open to where we can show love. Keep our eyes open to how He can shine his light through us, which should be our prayers daily.

I'm going to skip the title track for now.

'Out of My Hands' is a song about surrendering to God, first, foremost, and obviously. This is a topic Jars of Clay has touched on several times in past albums, but this song perhaps personifies it the best. It speaks of all God has done for us, which is more than we can imagine.

'No Greater Love' is a song about the power of sacrifice. It has, perhaps, a double-meaning. Like John 15:13 says, "There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." There is no greater love than bearing a burden, taking some of the pain, sacrificing for a friend. The other meaning being the same thing, only in the context of what Christ did on the cross. The question features the prayer 'Show me the beauty of a life laid down...' Powerful stuff.

'Run in the Night' is based on my favorite Psalm in the Bible - Psalm 27. It follows closely to the teachings of that chapter, and begins slow and contemplative, but near the end becomes a redemptive piece of love and perfection.

Track #9, 'Lay it Down,' is perhaps my favorite track on the entire album. It speaks of exactly what I've been dealing with for some time now. The senseless, counter-productive attitude of 'isolation will help me.' The song touches on the idea that if you are a Christian, you are a part of the most loving, understanding, welcoming, warm family conceivable. You have a father in heaven you adores you. You have brothers and sisters all over the world that belong to the same father you do, and there's deep connection in that. "We'll never be short on people," they sing, "but we'll never be short on trouble." The hard times always come along. The Enemy always attacks again. The chorus begs the question, "Why carry on our own?" they ask "Why drag this bag of bones to Hell and back again? Look around -" they say. "Lay it down." God puts people in our lives to love us, to build us up, to support and encourage us. We should absolutely allow them in and let them do so, as we are to do the same for them.

'Love Will Find Us' has a message that can be summed up in the chorus. "Run to these arms, be not alone;

Light is leading, love will find us all..." Beautiful.

Now, we'll go back to the title track, then touch on 'Benediction,' the closing track. The title track, 'The Shelter,' sums up the message of the Church in a beautiful way. Now, I did not say it sums up Christianity - it talks about us as Christians, and our roles in that. "To all who are looking down," to song speaks, "holding on to hearts still wounding... for those who've yet to find it: the places near where love is moving... cast off the robes you're wearing, set aside the names you've been given... may this place of rest in the fold of you journey bind you to hope." The idea that we, as Christians, are to be there for each other as the Church. Fellowship. To build each other up. To pray with and for one another. To help out in crisis. To comfort in despair. "God has given us each other..." the song says. In our hearts, hopefully, we have a group of friends or a family we know those words ring true about. I certainly know who God has given me for the purposes of this song. I feel their love and warmth whenever I hear this song. The chorus features the words of the old Irish proverb quoted at the top 'In the shelter of each other, we will live."

And then, in the end, there's 'Benediction.' It's a simple, quite song that basically says 'Now that you have the love of God, the strength of others, and the hope of life, go and spread the word.' Tell the world he loves you.

This album is an amazing collection of talent, meaning, and music that shines even above Jars of Clay's last album, 'The Long Fall Back to Earth.' I have already been blessed with the message and love of this album. It's an absolute must have for anyone.

Small Rebellions - 8/10

Call My Name - 9/10

We Will Follow - 10/10

Eyes Wide Open - 7/10

Shelter - 10/10

Out of My Hands - 8/10

No Greater Love - 8/10

Run in the Night - 7/10

Lay it Down - 10/10

Love Will Find Us - 7/10

Benediction - 9/10

Album as a Whole - 9/10

Highly Recommended.

Kingdom Hearts and Jesus

"They'll come at you out of nowhere. The Heartless have great fear of [you]... That's why they'll keep coming after you no matter what." -Leon, Kingdom Hearts

A young boy, barely a teenager, sits on the beach he's known his whole life, and stares out at the ocean as the sun slowly sets. Near his closest friends, he says to them this. "It's just... I've always wondered why we're here on this island. Why did I end up here? And suppose there [is more]... [we are] just a little piece of something much greater. So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?" Sora, the boy, is questioning his destiny. Why am I here? What is my purpose? Isn't there more?

One night, he begins to learn it.

Awakened, he comes face to face with darkness itself. It looks uncomfortably like himself. He tries to fight it, but fails miserably on his own, and sees just how sinister darkness can be, but he also, by divine providence, is given a weapon. A blade, but not only that. A blade used for fighting evil, and unlocking the Hearts of people. The darkness separates Sora from his friends - especially the girl it seems he loves, named Kairi.

What follows in an extremely thrilling, epic, creative and hilarious adventure video game that takes both elements from the popular video game series 'Final Fantasy' and mixes it with the nostalgia and legacy of decades of popular characters and worlds from Disney films. I know I do posts like this quite often - finding spiritual significance in pop culture - but I really thought some things in Kingdom Hearts was profound enough to share with you all.

The game came out in 2002, and I got it about 2005, and just now completed it. The story is marvelous, and it's extremely fun to play, but it seems, especially near the end, there's a lot deeper meaning and spiritual themes coming into play.

First, we have the Enemy. Spoilers follow.

The Enemy, Ansem, sees every person, every being, every man, woman, child, as being inherently evil. He believes, thrives, and plants darkness in people's hearts... so much so, that they begin to loose their heart completely. Oooh, boy - see where I'm going?

They become The Heartless - a creature that shows no emotions, that is void of all love and life; all because of the darkness once deep has been exposed. Ansem thrives on darkness - his power depends completely on the Heartless, for without hearts, they are manipulable and controllable. Those who still have their hearts, he seeks to implant darkness and seize their heart.

Sora, though, has been given a mission. He's been given the Keyblade - a sword said to unlock people's hearts, and destroy darkness itself. With it, he embarks on a mission to seal the worlds from darkness with the power that is in his sword.

Near the end, Sora confronts the Enemy who has taken the form of his friend, Riku. At his feet lies the girl Sora has been searching desperately for since they were separated by darkness, Kairi. Riku explains that his power cannot be made full unless this girl, this princess, this bride... has completely lost heart.

"The Keyhole cannot be completed, so long as the last Princess of Heart still sleeps," the Enemy says. As Sora triumphs over the evil, he realizes she still sleeps. In a dramatic and heart-churning scene, Sora willingly and without reservation gives his life to save her.

Watch the cutscene yourself

.

But, as the story goes, death could not hold him under. He returns, fully alive, and though the doors are sealed, and the world has almost been saved... he still has an Enemy to destroy...

Sora travels to the End of the World where he meets the King of Darkness himself. Ansem. He is beginning to set things in motion that will completely destroy the hearts of everyone, and darkness will sweep across eternity and all will be his. As he's about to fill himself with the power of Darkness, Sora proclaims the Truth to combat Ansem's lie.

"I know now... without a doubt... that Kingdom Hearts... is Light."

Or, allow me to paraphrase for my own purposes: "I know now, that without a doubt, the key to the heart... the key to the kingdom... is Light."

"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12

Ansem is defeated. In a beautiful cutscene, we see Sora promise Kairi, his girl, his Bride, that nothing can ever truly separate them. As the music plays, and the light of the Hearts are returned to the people, new life sweeps across the land, and everything is made new again. The Kingdom, literally, is restored, and the Bride is safe, thanks to the one who is Light. The Enemy vanquished, friends reunited, and the Hearts are set free. Wow.

Now, okay, to be fair, I have not played the sequel, though I will be soon. Chances are significant that any sort of plot device that is in the sequel could very well shatter the spiritual significance I've found in the first game, but just for a moment, feel the story the game is telling. I got pretty specific, but the overall message of Kingdom Hearts seems to be "The Heart is being attacked by darkness... the only thing to save and restore it is with the Light.'

Just as Sora has an enemy trying to steal the hearts of people and use the power of darkness to gain power, so do we. Our very real Enemy, Satan himself, has the same motivations. He wants to cripple and destroy your heart. Why? The same reason Ansem wanted Sora stopped - he wanted to stop him. If our hearts are set free with the Light, the Enemy fears us, because he knows what we're capable when we realize that 'Kingdom Hearts is, indeed, Light.'

Armed with Keyblades, swords, of our own (Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. - Hebrews 4:12) - the truth, we are to combat the Enemy as well. We must remember the sacrifice Jesus made to set us free, and we must remember how death could not defeat him. We must remember how, in the end, the Light of the World will ultimately triumph over evil once and for all, and the Kingdom will be restored, and everything made new again. It's a powerful truth, and it's ten times more epic than any video game you could ever play.

Remember the story you're in, remember the battle you're fighting. Remember to fight the lie with the Truth of the Light. Don't surrender your Heart to the darkness. You play a far too important role to allow that to happen.

Now if only we had our own Gummi Ships. That would be sweet.

Thanks for Reading,

-Matt

Lord of the Rings and Jesus - The Battle for Helm's Heart

"The dark tide flowed up to the walls from cliff to cliff. Thunder rolled in the valley. Rain came lashing down.

Arrows thick as the rain came whistling over the battlements, and fell clinking and glancing on the stones. Some found a mark. The assault on Helm's Deep had begun but no sound of challenge was heard within; no answering arrows came.

Then the Orcs screamed, waving spear and sword and shooting a cloud if arrows at any that stood revealed upon the battlements; and the men of the Mark amazed looked out, as it seemed to them, upon a great field of dark corn, tosses by a tempest of war, and every ear glinted with barbed light.
Brazen trumpets sounded.. The enemy surged forward... The lightning flashed, and blazoned upon every helm and shield the ghastly hand of Isengard was seen. They reached the summit of the rock; they drove towards the gates..." JRR Tolkien, 'The Two Towers'

Thus begins one of the pivotal battles in the story of 'Lord of the Rings.' The enemy of the free peoples of Middle Earth has forged an army of the foulest and most sinister soldiers imaginable, and they're going for where the people from the city of Edoras had hidden themselves - in the heart of a mountain; a fortress known as Helm's Deep.

What follows is an epic, devastating battle in which the Men of the Mark fight the Orcs of Isengard in arrow-firing, sword clashing, blood-shedding combat. If you've read the novels or seen the movies, you know how big of a deal the Battle for Helm's Deep was. Why did the evil wizard Saruman decide to send his soldiers and minions to attack the free people of Rohan? Why them, and why attack their settlement in the heart of the mountain?

I believe it's because Saruman could not stand, evil and powerful as he was, to be engaged in a war he would ultimately loose. He looked at those people, those free people led by a King, and felt such hatred that he wanted them dead, knowing he had already lost them.

Sounds a lot like our Enemy, doesn't it?

The thief, who comes to steal, kill, and destroy, looks upon the free children of God with such hatred, he does the same thing to us; he attacks us at our Helm's Deep - the heart. The heart, which is the very core to our life. The very thing Christ has set free - the very essence of our being. The good thing God put in us - the core of who we are, and who God is in our lives.

"Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life." - Proverbs 4:23, HCSB

We see in Lord of the Rings that the Rohirrim do just that - mustering up their courage, their strength, and, being led by the King, they attempt to guard their heart - they begin to fight off the Orcs attempting to seize Helm's Deep. Do you ever think of the battle for the heart in the same way? I'm going to capitalize that - it's so truly epic, it deserves it. Do you ever think about the Battle for the Heart in the same way? As the Enemy is ramming into the gates of the hold, they scream and shout as they rain arrows down upon the people and bang their spears and clash their swords. They obviously want to get in there. They want to kill. They want to steal. They want to destroy.

At that point, the people inside open their doors and say 'Come on in!!'

No, I'm kidding. Could you imagine? And yet... that's what so many of us do, don't we? Instead of guarding our hearts, we leave the door unlocked. Heck, sometimes, we let the Enemy in freely, don't we? We will sometimes invite him in. Scary thought, when put in perspective, isn't it? We invite him him by opening the doors and gates to the heart by the things we do, the things we say, the things we watch, read, listen to - the lives we live... like what's inside doesn't matter to us. Well, wait, what exactly is in the Heart?

"Do you not know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God?" 1 Corinthians 6:19 HCSB

So.. what?

"Okay - each of us is now the Temple of God, so where, then, is the Holy of Holies? Your heart." -John Eldrege, 'Waking the Dead.'

Think about that. Your heart is the very place where the Holy Spirit dwells - where the Holy Spirit is, if you've put your faith and life in Christ. That's what they mean when they say 'You've got to let Jesus into your heart.' They mean that quite literally. God Himself comes to dwell in you the moment you put your faith in Him. The wonderful counselor makes His home within you, to always be with you. Cool stuff, huh?

Why are we so... lazy... in guarding our hearts, then? Why do we let the Enemy in so freely? What would have happened is the Rohirrim had just flung the gates to Helm's Deep open and said 'We welcome you, Enemy?' I think we don't realize how much of an attack we're under, and even if we did, I think we'd be scared. Makes sense - it's a scary thing fighting the one who wants to steal your happiness, destroy your life, and kill your spirit. The men of Edoras probably felt the same way. Scared. Unable and unwilling to defend the hold.

"So much... death..... what can men do against... such reckless hate?"
Aragorn, the True King speaks to him.
"Ride out with me. Ride out with me and meet them."

Fighting alongside the King, Theoden leads his men into battle with the Orcs of Isengard, and the epic Battle for Helm's Deep begins. "The sun is rising..." Gimli says.

We act like Theoden sometimes, don't we? Scared. Wondering what good fighting will really do in the end. What guarding the fortress, the Heart, will really be for. The King reminds us that the Heart is worth fighting for. He, himself, gave his very life to set it free - why wouldn't we try our hardest to guard the Heart from the enemy?

I believe that the Enemy doesn't have to do much to get into our hearts. He plants a tiny seed, and we water it. He gives us the tiniest bit of pain, or the smallest essence of doubt, and we latch onto it, and we let it grow. By believing his lies, we have let our guard down; we've swung the doors to Helms Deep and wide open and said 'Hey Satan! What are you trying to sell me?' and he comes in, and, literally, all hell breaks loose in our lives.

It is crucial to guard the heart. We are to do it 'above all else.' Why? Because it is the essence of our life, and the very dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.

In Lord of the Rings, eventually, the Men of the Mark were able to drive away their attackers. Yes, the Enemy got in for a split second because Rohan let their guard down, but alongside the King, they had their victory. The enemies ran screaming to hide in the forest, Tolkien writes. The same, too, shall happen to our enemies, if we defend, if we guard our Hearts with the help of the King.

"Let this be the hour... we draw swords together!" - Theoden, Lord of the Rings

" Don't assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." - Matthew 10:34 HCSB

"For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as to divide soul, spirit, joints, and marrow..." - Hebrews 4:12 HCSB

Jesus has come to fight for and defend the Hearts of His people. He also says, to us, that the Bible is a sword. What better to defend the temple, the sanctuary, the hold, the castle of the Heart from a reckless, ever-attacking Enemy... than with the Sword of the King?

The enemy is coming. No, scratch that. He's already here. Let this be the hour you draw your sword. The hour is late, and the Enemy is breaking down your door. Trust and follow the King. Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the source of life. To arms! CHARGE!

"This is a call to arms; gather soldiers! Time to go to war! This is a battle song; brothers and sisters, it's time to go to war!" - 30 Seconds to Mars, 'A Call to Arms,' - THIS IS WAR Album

Are you ready?

Here they come...

-Matt

Harry Potter and Jesus - Connecting the Dots

Warning: this blog post contains spoilers for Harry Potter, Lost, Narnia, The Princess Bride, Star Wars, Saw, and Lord of the Rings. You've been warned!

This past month at my church, we've been doing a series called Dot 2 Dot - "Connecting the Dots to see the Big Picture." The whole idea behind it all is how God can use seemingly insignificant, tiny things and people as a part of his big picture, working them all together for the story He's trying to tell.

I have loved this series because of that very idea - the tiny, seemingly unimportant things actually being very significant when all is revealed in the end. Don't you love that, too? I think most people, Christian or not, love that aspect of stories, books, movies, television, etc.

How did 'Lost' remain on air for six seasons? After plot twist after plot twist; after turn after turn; after revelation after revelation, we find out little details we learned early on were significant after all. We see the identity of the skeletons in the cave revealed, we find out what the island is, and we find out that Jack Shepherd and the Oceanic Six have a crucial role to play.

How did JK Rowling get professors of literature to read a Scholastic Childern's novel series? After seven whole books in the Harry Potter series, we see that, thousands of pages prior, we learned the secret (knew all along) to the defeat Voldemort, who up until now sent fear to those who dare speak his name. We see that a friend-turned-foe-but-not-really was actually fighting for righteousness all along. We see the secrets of the Hocruxes revealed, and we see that not only Harry, but all his friends and allies had crucial roles to play.

We see it in Narnia, we the Pevensie children stumble into a brand new world - four seemingly unimportant orphans who were to become kings and queens of the realm. We see it in Lord of the Rings' Middle Earth, where Aragorn, a seemingly unimportant and mysterious ranger of the forests and plains surrounding the Shire, is actually revealed to be the heir to the throne of Gondor. Heck, we even see it in the popular horror franchise, 'Saw! (mature content warning on that link)' Despite being overly gruesome, horrifically grotesque, and atrociously vulgar, we see a complex tapestry of brilliant story and plot twists take shape in a world where people hide in fear from evil. It is revealed who his accomplices were. It's revealed who he was working with, and who has carried on his work after his death. It's revealed that a detective who had been working to find the killer since the beginning actually has a crucial role to play. (Just take my word for it... you probably shouldn't see it. ;) )

We see it all around; we see see little dots being connecting in ways we'd never see coming. Why do we love it so much when a tiny forgotten detail turns up to be something important?

Because we long to be that dot.

We all have probably hear Romans 8:28 before. "We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Or, as 'The Message' says it, "...we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good." Every detail... every seemingly significant detail... every small, little thing... can and will be working into God's story for good, for those who love him. Wow, huh?

Let's look at someone who was seemingly insignificant, but who turned out to save the world from Sin, set captives free, justify the world, and bring about the end of the reign of evil on Earth. Jesus Christ.

In the dead of night, on a chilly night, a virgin girl, not even married yet, but engaged, gave birth to a child. Despite that being a physical impossibility, it happened, quietly, in a barn of all places. A single angel from heaven informed this girl, Mary, who this miracle child would be, and what she should name him. She followed the angel's instruction, and named the little newborn 'Jesus.'

Jesus was raised as a carpenter. A rugged job for the son (or step-son, as it were) of the rugged man who was Mary's husband, Joseph. Carpenters weren't exactly taught the fullness of Jewish law like other, more 'important' children of religious leaders or what-have-you, but Jesus was meek and humble before starting his ministry.

But, eventually, start it he did. And it was a shock to the world.

Some of the things he said, some of the things he taught, the people he criticized, the people he healed, the people he saved from the grave itself spread like wildfire across the area, and later on, literally, across the Earth. Governments feared him. Religious leaders abhorred him. People loved him, but there were some who wanted him dead.

And in the end, they killed him. Or so they had thought.

Which leads us to the plot twist: the Resurrection. The savior is dead, and in his grave. His people grieve as evil sweeps across the land. In JK Rowling's final book in the Harry Potter series, we see Voldemort, the Dark Lord, invoke the dreaded Unforgivable Killing curse, the Avada Kedavra, and kill Harry Potter, as he stands before him, preparing to die without a fight. Then, he, Voldemort, is seen gloating over the body of Harry Potter, who was supposed to be 'The Chosen One;' the one who would save the Wizarding World from the evil one. We see Voldemort displaying the limp body of Harry to his friends and allies, who all recoil in horror as they see his body, before them, dead. He was not dead, though; no, not at all.

When all hope seemed lost, when the end seemed near, when all was about to end, Harry sheds his Invisibility Cloak (a veil or sorts), and is standing, fully alive and standing before the Dark Lord. His allies cheer - 'HE'S ALIVE!' they scream.

Wand in hand, standing in the radiant, shimmering sun rising over Hogwarts castle, it's down to Harry and Voldemort - the climax has arrived.

Maybe it's just the little boy in me, but I love 'Final Showdowns.' Sure, epic wars and big battle scenes are awesome, but there's something about two individuals, locked in combat, that seems to awaken to little warrior in me; the little boy that used to own the plastic lightsaber, the foam sword, and the Nerf gun.

We see Luke engage in lightsaber combat with Vader. We see Frodo and Gollum struggle on the teetering ledge over the fires of Mt. Doom. We see Jack Shepherd and The Man in Black, disguised as John Locke, duke it out on a mountaintop on The Island as a storm wreaks havoc around them. We see King Peter face King Miraz and Aslan, the White Witch. We see Inigo Montoya duel Count Rugen, the man who killed his father. And, as I was talking about a moment ago, we see Harry face Voldemort.

Harry and Voldemort face each other. Voldemort, though still boasting his foolish pride, is actually quaking in fear because he realizes this could very well be the end. With one flick of his wand, he casts, once again, the Avada Kedavra, the Killing Curse, at Harry.

Harry, though, cannot be conquered.

With a flick of his own wand, he casts the Disarming Charm at his enemy, which does more than makes him loose drop with wand. It disarms him for good. The evil one is dead. Hogwarts celebrates their freedom and victory.

Harry Potter. The orphan who started in book one as the little 11 year old boy who lived in a closet under a staircase with his horrible Aunt and Uncle. A person probably can't feel more insignificant than that, can they? Harry was seemingly unimportant, but that's been a recurring word here in this blog post, hasn't it? 'Seemingly.'

He discovers that that little scar on his forehead - that little mark, that little dot - plays a crucial role to the story he's found himself in. He discovers that a prophecy has been made on his behalf, and that he has an absolutely crucial role to play in the destruction of the Evil One and the saving of the world from Death (Eaters...).

I think a lot of us feel like Harry Potter sometimes. Nothing we do could possibly matter. Serving in this small capacity couldn't possibly mean anything in the 'big picture.' Allowing God to use me in this tiny way can't be worth anything.

Oh, but it can!

Never believe you are insignificant. As Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us, God has plans for you. BIG plans. GREAT plans. For Hope, and a 'good future,' the NCV tells us. " I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for." The Message says.

God KNOWS what he's doing! It's up to Him to connect the dots, and he will. It's up to you to remain faithful, to keep your heart, mind, eyes, and ears open to God, so that he can connect your dot to the right dot it needs to be connected to. Trust him - He knows what He's doing.

Thanks for reading!

Mischief Managed,

-Matt

Mario Kart and Jesus

For an 18-year-old gamer, Mushroom Gorge is a tough track on Mario Kart Wii.

For a 5-year-old girl, Mushroom Gorge can seem nearly impossible.

My niece Gracie was hanging out over here, at my house today. She's five years old, and she's starting Kindergarten in two days. It's crazy to think, even as just her uncle, that she's already starting real school and growing up. Anyway, today, she was over here, and I introduced her to Mario Kart for the Wii.

At first, she seemed really shaky. If you know anything about Mario Kart, you'll know that the fact she took seven minutes to finish Luigi's Circuit doesn't exactly make her a professional. She didn't really grasp the idea of moving the control stick to steer, or to keep holding down the gas button to keep her car going. After one race, she wanted to quit.

"No," I said, "You can do it - it just takes experience." She tried again, and was a little bit better. She switched to another racetrack, and was even better the third time. She was very happy that she was getting so good at this game that was new to her.

And then, she got to Mushroom Gorge.

Mushroom Gorge is basically a giant hurdle. Half the time, you've got flat, straight roads that are easy to navigate, but the other half of the time, you've got giant gaps to leap, ridiculous cliffs to jump over, uncountable mushrooms to bounce off of and hope that you land safely on the other side. It's tough, even for an experienced Mario Karter, but to my niece, it was almost impossible.

I could see the frustration building in her face and the disappointment surfacing in her heart as she tried desperately to transverse the cliffs of this racetrack. She turned to me and said 'Matt, can you do it for me?'

I thought about it. I could definitely do it for her. I mean, I'm a pretty good player - the best in my house. If there's anyone that could beat it for her, it would be me. But I also thought, too, of how happy I know she'd be if she could beat it herself. Still, she needed help, and I wanted to offer it to her.

"All you have to do," I began, "Is to drive very straight off the ramp. Then, you'll bounce off the mushroom and land on the other side." She tried it once, and failed. "One more time," I said, "But this time, don't worry about it - just do what I said, and you'll be fine." She was placed back on the racetrack, and began to drive forward, as she tried once more.

She flew off the ramp, bounced right off the mushroom, and landed safely on the other side.

"You did it!" I exclaimed as she, literally, dropped the control, beaming, and said back to me "I did it!" She was so very happy that she was able to cross something simple and silly like the first gap on a Mario Kart track. But, you know, she had experience now. As I sit here and write this, she is sitting behind me, playing Mushroom Gorge over and over again. It's her favorite racetrack. She can speed through the entire course in under three minutes now. She rarely falls off the track anymore. She's able to fly over the cliffs, and always land safely.

Christianity can be a lot like Mario Kart.

When Gracie first started playing, it took a lot of getting used to. I mean, who's ever heard of a green dinosaur on a motorcycle racing a princess and a plumber anyway? The concept was brand new to her. The game controller was brand new to her, but in no time, she was up and going. That's how, most of the time, we feel about of walks with God as Christians. Pretty good, they might say. Not great, but pretty good.

Then, she was faced with Mushroom Gorge. Disheartened and discouraged, she didn't know what to do. She asked me, like I said earlier, "Can you do it for me, Matt?" It seems like when we're faced with the tough stuff in life, we go straight to do and ask the same question... for some of us, it's the only time we go to God. When we need him to do something.

But, like Gracie and Mushroom Gorge, sometimes, I believe that God let's us face struggle to teach us something - to essentially train us.

Let's look at David for a minute. This little kid, basically, who goes to bring his brothers some lunch one day, and he sees them all cowering at the very mention of their enemy, Goliath's, name. David approaches King Saul, and says, "Well, I'll fight him." King Saul probably laughs as he says "Don't be ridiculous! There's no way you can possibly win... you're just a boy." Let's pick it up there.

But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”

Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!” - 1 Samuel 17:34-37

Now, when David was a young shepherd boy, do you think he enjoyed fighting off lions and bears? Do you think it was easy for him? Of course not. It's a freaking bear. It's a freaking lion. If you've ever seen the Discovery Channel, you know that... bears and lions are vicious and violent. David, obviously a young man who loved the Lord, could have said 'God, PLEASE, do this for me!' But as we read, David would go off and wrestle the bears and lions himself, by clubbing it to death like the warrior he was. God was always with him, preserving him, but it was a struggle to protect his sheep and to do his job right.

You see, when we face hardships, struggles, or challenges in life, and we ask Him to take care of it for us, sometimes it seems like He's inactive. We might feel discouraged, but think for a moment about what he could be saying. "Listen to what I have to say, and do what I say do." Just like Gracie in Mushroom Gorge where I instructed her how to jump the mushroom, just like how, unbeknownst to him, David was being trained up to fight Goliath someday. "The Lord rescued me..." David said, but it was because he was taking action and doing what he knew God had already instructed him to do.

'Well then,' you may be asking, 'That's great, but how do I know what God wants me to do?' That's an easy answer. God's given you an entire book of 'What to Do.' The Bible.

When the hard times come, and we ask God to Divinely intervene, I think sometimes we forget about how much He already has. He's given us everything He's ever wanted to reveal to the human race... all in one convenient, complete, and usually leather-bound volume. The answers are there - it just takes time, studying, and faith to find them in there.

So next time when you're faced with a 'Gorge' in your life, when you pray, consider changing your prayer from 'God, fix this for me,' to 'God, give me wisdom - show me what to do.'

But, seriously, Gracie is still here playing Mushroom Gorge. The song is getting a bit annoying, but I wouldn't tell her to stop for anything.

Thanks for reading!
-Matt